Pros and Cons of 2005 Mazda RX-8

pr0wler

Member
I'm a new driver and I was thinking about picking up a 2005 pre-owned RX-8. I am getting my license in a few weeks so I am not able to test drive it yet but I'm doing a lot of research. I was just wondering if anyone had a coles notes list of pros and cons with the RX-8. From what I've seen, my list consists of...

Pros

- Great looks. 2nd nicest looking car, next to the Genesis Coupe.
- Affordable. I can pick up a 2005 Automatic w/ leather for under 20k $CAN.
- 4 door coupe.

Cons

- Very bad on gas.

That's all I know so far. If anyone has ANY insight it'd be much appreciated. Does the engine make a ton of noise on the highway or at other times? Is it small/cramped during long trips? Is the low torque an issue? Anything else I should be worried about? What else is good about the 2005 RX-8 besides what I mentioned?

Thank you :)
 
Do yourself a huge favor if you get an rx8 and get it in 6spd. This car will out handle a genesis coupe. Engine noise is pretty low as well with a stock setup.
 
Pro's - Handling and balance
Con's - Price, sucky power, reliability, gas millage, oil consumption, usability, maintenance,
 
Con's - reliability, oil consumption, maintenance,

Not exactly sure why these are listed as cons

Well maintained rotarys will last just as long as a piston engine, oil consumption isn't really a con its just a pain for lazy people who should be checking their oil any way reguardless of mileage, and maintenance is the same as any other vehicle no difference there at all.
 
The engine is very quiet and smooth. If you change out the intake you can get more engine noise. The only intake I know of that makes a crazy amount of noise is the older style K&N intake. Most of the others out there are pretty mellow.
 
i think they are better looking than a genesis coupe...genesis is an awesome looking car but i dont think its better

the only real con to the rx8 in my opinion is the gas mileage...but its not terrible..i get about 19mpg...but others do get around 16

maintenance is like any other car soo dont listen to people who have never owned a rotary in their life..and oil consumption isnt that bad...if u have a problem topping off the oil twice a month then your a lazy ass
 
From your OP I gather that you are in Canada? You might consider performance in the winter also. The 8 performs very well for a RWD light platform, but may be a handful for a new driver. If you do get an 8 be sure to get snow tires(a good idea in colder climates), and don't turn the TCS/DSC off unless you have a lot of clear space around you.
 
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It depends one what you want to run on that front

Synthetic is not recommended by Mazda. Real Dino oil is.

Maintainance is no big deal, I only add a small amount of oil 1 time in between oil changes under normal driving. My normal driving is a redline at least once each time I drive it, good for the car, good for me :)

Granted I only have about 30,000 miles on mine but have had no engine problems or other issues really. Had the small TSB items taken care of as they come up.

Would I recommend this car for a first time owner?? Not unless you are particular and pay attention. If you want to jump in, turn the key and blast around without taking care of it, I don't think this car is for you. It is not for everybody as rotaries are quirky cars and you should understand them.

On the other hand, they are a safe car to drive if done responsibly. they are fast, doesn't mean they have to have lots of power to be fast either.

Have you checked insurance on either car? That could be a deciding factor as well. The RX8 was called a 4 door car when it first came out and got decent rates, not sure if they wised up.

Oh and I heard they do handle well in snow with proper tires, but the stock ones are not even all season and will not do well in even a light bit oof snow.
 
Hello everyone!

I too am from Canada (Toronto area) and recently picked up a 2005 RX-8 - and you can get them for far less than $20k Canadian - you can pick up a private sale for $15-$16k pretty easily and a dealer sale for $18k. I got my 6spd GT for $13k with 42k miles (66k km) and even 4 winter tires :)

I've been driving standard cars for 12 years now and this is certainly a fun one!

Everyone that I talked to echoed the same sentiments - in regards to the oil it is expected/designed to lose about 1L every 5k miles - so realistically you don't even NEED to fill up as long as you do your oil changes regularly, but realistically if you can't toss in 1/2L every 2500 miles then you shouldn't be owning a car much less this one! To be safe check the oil about once every 1000 miles or 3-4 fill-ups.

With pretty heavy acceleration and constant A/C use I'm getting about 19mpg over my last 3 fillups using premium... not too bad... but yes it is a thirsty car.

The handling is amazing, the accelleration for anything other than off-the-line is fantastic. The only downside I see in that regard is that from a dead stop it drags for the first couple thousand RPM until it gets to it's power range (which happens very quickly), so if you are used to domestic cars (as I am) with their torque peak in the very low end then it's going to feel a little wierd and take some getting used to (especially the shifting).

The insurance really isn't all that bad. The ministry classifies this as a 2-door car so I'm pretty sure that the insurance companies are the same. But if you are a new driver and have no driving history then this will be a very expensive car to insure especially because you're going to want full coll/comp.

In short I'm pretty happy with this car so far!
 
Yes but you can run synthetic if you so choose. Its all personal preference with that.

Agreed. I think the most important thing is to check on the oil level regularly. What weight you run is next on the scale of importance (must be appropriate to what you are using the car for, is it a DD, track car, combination of both????). I guess the regular vs. synthetic debate should fall here. Not critical, but part of the equation.
 
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